Image forming apparatuses perform printing in response to a printing request (printing job). The image forming apparatuses form images on printing media (paper sheets) such as paper and discharge the printing media on which the images are formed. The image forming apparatuses include transport units that transport printing media and image forming units that form images on printing media being transported.
For example, the image forming units form latent images (electrostatic latent images) on photoconductive drums by charging the photoconductive drums and radiating light according to printing image data (printing data during a printing job) to the photoconductive drums. The image forming units stick toner (developer) to the latent images formed on the photoconductive drums and transfer the toner stuck to the latent images to printing media through transfer belts to form toner images on the printing media. The image forming units include fixers that include heaters and fixing rollers. The fixers form the images on the printing media by fixing the toner images formed on the printing media, with the printing media on which the toner images are formed nipped between the fixing rollers heated at a high temperature by the heater.
In the image forming apparatuses, when there is no printing request for a given time, units of the image forming apparatuses transition from a ready state in which images can be formed to a sleep state in which conductivity to the heaters is stopped or display of display units is erased, and thus power saving is achieved.
In such image forming apparatuses, when approach of an individual to the image forming apparatus is detected by a camera, individual authentication is performed by matching an image of the individual captured by the camera with an individual image registered in advance. When the individual is a person permitted to use the image forming apparatus, each unit is returned from the sleep state to the ready state. However, it may not be said that the individual approaching the image forming apparatus necessarily uses the image forming apparatus. For this reason, even when the image forming apparatus is not used, a warming-up operation of the heater occurs. Thus, unnecessary power consumption occurs.
Accordingly, there is a request for an image forming apparatus that does not unnecessarily consume power.